Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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593. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if his attention has been drawn to difficulties in securing supports for children despite sponsorship referrals made under section 14 of the Childcare Support Act 2018 for special arrangements on the basis of child welfare, child protection, family support or other specified grounds, due to the fact that the process takes a minimum of three weeks to activate registration; if he will seek to reform the process to reduce delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25359/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Sponsorship arrangements within the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) play an important role in making additional supports available for families with complex and challenging needs that Early Learning and Care can help to address.

Once a sponsored referral to the NCS has been completed and submitted on the system, it is processed and a ‘CHICK’ number is produced on the same day. As no income assessment is required for a sponsored case, completed sponsored referrals can be processed quickly. Once a CHICK has been generated, the parent (or sponsor body, with the parent’s agreement) must bring this to a childcare provider to be registered in order for NCS subsidies to be paid.

A referral application must be finalised by the relevant sponsor body before being submitted on the NCS system. I do understand the frustration of waiting for an application to be finalised, particularly in a sponsored case. We are working closely with the various sponsor organisations to improve the customer experience for the vulnerable groups who require this support.

From 7^thSeptember, the maximum number of subsidised hours available to families on NCS has increased from 40 to 45 hours per week. This includes sponsored children. This increase has been communicated to all sponsor bodies and updated referral forms have been sent out to them. In writing to all sponsor bodies on this occasion, my Department took the opportunity to reiterate our role in assisting sponsor bodies, and to remind them that training continues to be available if needed/wanted.

In addition to working directly with the sponsor bodies, the City/County Childcare Committees (CCCs) have undergone extensive training and based on this training, and my Department have updated our FAQ’s to reflect the most common issues or questions that they have raised.

In the coming months I hope to see the numbers of children availing of sponsorship increase as awareness rises. Where specific cases are brought to my Department's attention, my officials will work to ensure these children are prioritised.

If the Deputy is aware of such cases, then she might contact my officials and we will look into those cases as a matter of urgency.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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594. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of training given to public health nurses on the HIVE and CHICK registration processes; if his attention has been drawn to training deficits in view of the crucial role public health nurses play in early intervention of vulnerable children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25360/20]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Childcare Support Act 2018 specifies 5 statutory bodies with which the Minister may make agreements in relation to referral procedures for free or additional childcare. These sponsorship arrangements within the National Childcare Scheme offer additional supports for families with complex and challenging needs that Early Learning and Care can help to address. Where there is a sponsored referral for a child, they will automatically qualify for the maximum number of subsidised hours available, without having to satisfy the Scheme’s eligibility requirements.

Signed agreements are in place with all sponsor bodies, and all sponsor bodies have received training in relation to the NCS.

Public Health Nurses can refer children for sponsored childcare to support child development for children who are below the age for participation in ECCE and where there is an identified need for childcare as a developmental support for the child. I appreciate the vital role that PHNs play in ensuring that extra supports are made available where they are needed.

PHN’s underwent training sessions via webinar on the 18^th, 23^rdand 30^thJune (160 attendee’s approx.) 27^thAugust (65 attendee’s approx.) Further sessions are scheduled for 23rd and 24th September and the 7th and 14th October. After each training session the training materials and FAQ’s are updated to reflect the most common issues or questions that they have raised.

In the coming months I hope to see the numbers of children availing of sponsorship increase as awareness rises. Where specific cases are brought to my Department's attention, my officials will work to ensure these children are prioritised.